In Tuesday’s trading session in the local markets, the Top 40 closed the day down by 0.1% and the Resources 10 sector went down by 1.28%, the Financial 15 went down by 0.26%, the Industrial 25 went up by 0.57%. The rand traded at R17.17 against the Dollar, R21.28 against the Pound, and R18.72 against the Euro.
The prices of platinum and palladium are under some pressure, while the gold price remains steady as the market awaits US economic data and the FED meeting next week. Crude oil prices rebound on demand recovery hopes in China.
In local company specific news, Sasol announced that it has signed three power purchase agreements to supply renewable energy to its South African operation. It also released its production and sales metrics report for the six months ended 31 December 2022. External sales revenue declined by 2% due to lower sales volumes which declined by 5%, predominantly due to Eurasia volumes, which were offset by higher sales volumes in America.
Graph: Sasol Share Price Chart (Source: Infront)
Clicks released a trading update for its 20 weeks to 15 January 2023. Total group sales excluding COVID-19 vaccinations increased by 7.8%, retail sales increased by 12.2%, distribution turnover increased by 9.9%. Comparable store sales increased by a strong 8.9%, with selling price inflation of only 6.8%. The retail pharmaceutical group will release its interim results for the period ended 28 February, on or around the 20
th of April.
Astral Foods expects an approximate 90% drop in headline earnings to 142 cents per share for the six months ended March due to the negative effects of loadshedding in the country. It’s price of producing a chicken now exceeds the selling price by R2/kg.
In the United States, Microsoft released market beating earnings but missed revenue expectations for its second quarter. Its adjusted earnings per share of $3.32 beat the $2.29 expected, while revenue of $52.75 billion was below the $52.94 billion expected.
Industrial players, 3M and General Electric also released positive quarterly results yesterday.
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